In a typical stage lighting control system a lighting control console is located with a view toward the stage and different colored stage lights illuminate the stage. The control console includes individual light control devices, or faders, for operation of corresponding stage lights. The operator thereby illuminates the stage in selected light colors to achieve a desired stage lighting effect.
For a given stage arrangement, each stage light is directed toward a portion of the stage and a color filter, or gel, is mounted to provide a desired lighting color. The stage lights are operatively connected to the control console and each fader controls one or more associated stage lights. The operator associates each fader with a given colored stage light by notation written on adhesive tape lying next to the fader. Thus, various color names are written across the adhesive tape in accordance with the current stage arrangement.
During a stage performance the operator provides a variety of lighting scenes in coordination with the stage performance, and this can be challenging. Lighting control consoles can have as many as ninety faders in each bank. There are over two hundred standard stage light gels colors, and additional colors are possible by overlaying gels. Also, with slight variations between similar colors, it is difficult to distinguish, by crowded written notion on adhesive tape, subtle differences between similar colors. To provide a given lighting scene a particular combination of fader settings is needed; the operator must read the adhesive tape notation to identify stage lights requiring adjustment and adjust the corresponding faders. In many cases scenes change rapidly. The operator must quickly identify and adjust the faders to preserve coordination with the stage performance.
Given experience with a particular stage arrangement and performance, an operator of the lighting control console becomes adept at manipulating the faders to move from scene to scene. However, performances and lighting arrangements change. The fader labels on the adhesive tape are often rewritten. Even experienced operators are faced with new fader labels. Also, experienced operators are not always available. It is therefore desirable that the operator be able to quickly and reliably associate faders with the stage lights, despite unfamiliarity with the current stage arrangement.
Some stage lighting control consoles are programmable. A particular combination of fader settings, a lighting scene, is stored by first setting the faders as desired and then invoking an automatic procedure which reads the fader settings and writes corresponding values into a memory device. A number of scenes can be loaded into the console for later recall during a stage performance. Even a programmable lighting control console requires that the user label the faders by notation on adhesive tape for a given stage arrangement and step through each scene to be presented during the performance. Efficient use of a programmable lighting control console requires the operator to quickly identify and adjust the faders to move from scene to scene during programming.